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My dog is vomiting and has had diarrhea, he now has blood in…

Customer Question

My dog is...

My dog is vomiting and has had diarrhea, he now has blood in with his stool and I am concerned . He started puking at around 9 o clock and started with the runny poop around 7 it is now 11 o clock. He has vommitted quite a few times throughout the day and after the first time it has been mostly yellow. I’ve tried to give water every now and again but he only seems to hold it down for 10 minutes before he spits it back up. I gave him plain chicken and he kept that down right until I gave him water. He is 3 years old an Australian shepherd and we are traveling in the car to a new location.

Veterinarian's Assistant: I'll do all I can to help. Hopefully it didn't make a mess. Did your dog eat anything unusual?

Not anything that I can think of hes Been hesitant to eat the past 3 days of so (his typical dry food) which isn’t uncommon when I’m traveling. He will take a couple of nibbles and then won’t touch it but last night he ate all of his food (typical portion) but puked it up this morning about two hours after I started traveling.

Veterinarian's Assistant: Is there anything else important you think the Veterinarian should know about your dog?

He’s had history of a sensitive stomach but never this bad and it’s typically cured with yogurt, but he won’t touch the yogurt. He held down plain chicken tonight up until about an hour ago when he had some water

Submitted: 4 months ago.Category: Dog Veterinary

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Customer reply replied 4 months ago

His gums look a little pale but are still pink he’s got good capillary refill but he mucous membranes are dry I’m assuming from dehydration

I’ve been seeing these symptoms for almost 20 hours now. The blood started later in the day around 4 pm I started traveling around 7 am it’s only a spoonful or so. His diarrhea is kinda yellow but not so much so only reason I know( he has longer hair and I have to wipe his backend before he comes in). His gums look kinda pale but his mouth also is mottled just the breed he is it’s been like that since he was a puppy so it’s hard to really tell but they are stickyNo real tenderness to the belly and I can’t think of anything harmful he could’ve gotten a hold of his a picky eater so he’s not one to just pick up things and swallow them.

Customer reply replied 4 months ago

That and he’s pretty much been with me for the past five day by my side because we’ve been traveling

First, I am glad to see that his gums sound pretty normal for him. Still if they are sticky that tells us that dehydration is creeping in, so we do need to be proactive here. Now with small amounts of blood like that, it suggests a secondary inflammation of his colon which is not uncommon with diarrhea. So, we do need to address his stools and usually that will settle down.

Now in regards ***** ***** for what we are seeing, if harmful ingestions are less likely, then our main suspects would be a bacterial or viral gastroenteritis, pancreatitis, parasites/protozoa infections, or possible dietary indiscretion. With this all in mind, we can try some home supportive care. To start, if he hasn’t just vomited (since otherwise we’d need to rest his stomach for a few hours first), then you can consider treating him an OTC pet safe antacid [ie Pepcid (More Info/Dose @http://www.petplace.com/article/drug-library/library/over-the-counter/famotidine-pepcid), Zantac (More Info/Dose @ http://www.petplace.com/article/drug-library/library/over-the-counter/ranitidine-hcl-zantac),Tagamet (More Info/Dose Here @ http://www.petplace.com/article/drug-library/library/over-the-counter/cimetidine-hcl-tagamet)]. Whichever you choose, we’d give this 20 minutes before offering food to allow absorption. Of course, do double check with your vet if he has a known health issues or is on any medications you haven't mentioned. Though if he cannot keep it down due to nausea, that is usually a red flag that we need to bypass his mouth with injectable anti-vomiting medication from his vet.

Afterwards, you can try an easily digestible diet like cooked white rice with boiled chicken, boiled white fish, cottage cheese, scrambled eggs, or meat baby food (as long as its garlic/onion free). The aim of these diets is that they will be better tolerated/absorbed by the compromised gut. Therefore, it should get more nutrients in and result in less GI upset/diarrhea. Fiber (ie canned pumpkin) and OTC probiotics (ie Benebac, Fortiflora) can be added to these meals to firm those loose stools quicker and support digestion. As long as improvement is being seen, I usually advise continuing this until signs are settled, and then weaning slowly back to your normal diet.

Furthermore, if he is very loose, then you can also use a pet safe anti-diarrheal. As I am sure you appreciate, these would not be a cure for infectious issues; but it can still be of benefit. It will reduce diarrhea load, allow the body to absorb more water/nutrients, and soothe the upset gut. In regards ***** ***** options, the one we most commonly use is Kaolin/Kaopectate (More Info/Dose @ http://www.petplace.com/article/drug-library/library/over-the-counter/kaolin-and-pectin-kapectolin-k-p)). This is available OTC at most pharmacies. Otherwise, Propectalin, Canikur, Fast Balance, and Protexin Pro-Fiber (all OTC at vets, pet stores, and even Amazon) would be another option. All will slow diarrhea and those last ones have the added bonus of providing support to the delicate good GI bacteria. So, these can be used as a short-term means of soothing his upset GI.

Finally, since his gums are sticky, I'd like you to check a few other parameters to assess his dehydration further. Do make sure his eyes aren't sunken and that he doesn’t have a "skin tent" when you lift the skin as those are more severe dehydration signs. To see how to check those dehydration signs, here is a good video ( http://www.ehow.com/video_12232503_dog-dehydrated.html ) to look at. If you do see any signs of dehydration already, that's our cue to have him seen before this becomes an additional issue (especially as it is often dehydration that makes them feel unwell).

Overall, his signs do raise some concerns here. Therefore, we’d want to start the above supportive care now. If he cannot keep that or water down at any point, appears dehydrated already, or doesn’t respond to the above within 12-24 hours; then we'd want to get a local vet involved. They can assess his hydration, rule out fever, make sure there is nothing in his stomach that shouldn't be there or any sinister viruses present. Depending on their findings, his vet can treat him with injectable anti-vomiting medication, fluids, +/- antibiotics to settle his stomach, and get him back feeling like himself.

I aim to provide best care for you just as I do for my own clients & their pets. If you have any other questions, please ask – I’m happy to help but please rate me with the**STARS** (or leave a written rating of 1-5; 5 being great) as this is the only way I am credited for my work by the site & this allows me to continue to help here. This is included in your question fee. Once you rate, your question will not close & you can still ask follow-up questions. Thank you. : )**

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Customer reply replied 4 months ago

Thank you so much! He’s been “fasting” for around 6 hours now I have some plain white chicken that I was gonna try to feed him later! I’ll deffinitely be trying the Pepcid first!!

That sounds like a good plan of action there and I am glad to see you have the bland diet on hand already. :)

All the best,

Dr. B.

*********************************

I aim to provide the best care for you just as I do for my own clients & their pets. If you have any other questions, please ask – I’m happy to help but please take the time rate me with the**STARS** (or leave a written rating of 1-5; 5 being great) afterwards as otherwise the site does not credit me for helping you. There is no extra fee for this (its included in your question fee). Once you rate, your question will not close & you can still ask follow-up questions. Thank you for helping me to keep helping everyone here. : )**

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Customer reply replied 4 months ago

I have Pepcid 10 mg tablets how much should I give him if he’s 30 pounds? It’s says .5 mg to .25 mg per pound

Apologies I had to pop away to see one of my own patients. If he is 30lbs, then our safe dose range is 7.5-15mg. So, start with one 10mg tablet for a mid range dose.

Dr. B.

*********************************

I aim to provide the best care for you just as I do for my own clients & their pets. If you have any other questions, please ask – I’m happy to help but please take the time rate me with the**STARS** (or leave a written rating of 1-5; 5 being great) afterwards as otherwise the site does not credit me for helping you. There is no extra fee for this (its included in your question fee). Once you rate, your question will not close & you can still ask follow-up questions. Thank you for helping me to keep helping everyone here. : )**

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